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Topic: Orthodoxy for the non-scholarly (Read 1514 times)

I've noticed that a lot of the Orthodox books available on the market are written for -- how shall I say this? -- bookish people. This doesn't bother me very much, as I'm the kind of person who gets annoyed at books that don't have enough footnotes, but I have a couple of acquaintances/relations who are interested in Orthodoxy but -- while not being dumb -- have a hard time digesting concepts articulated at a level beyond what one would read at a college freshman level.

What literature would you recommend for someone who prefers something written for laymen without college degrees?

(And please no Gilquest or Gallatin. Seriously.)

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Blessed Nazarius practiced the ascetic life. His clothes were tattered. He wore his shoes without removing them for six years.

THE OPINIONS HERE MAY NOT REFLECT THE ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED ORTHODOX CHURCH

"Hades is not a place, no, but a state of the soul. It begins here on earth. Just so, paradise begins in the soul of a man here in the earthly life. Here we already have contact with the divine..." -St. John, Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, Homily On the Sunday of Orthodoxy

I've noticed that a lot of the Orthodox books available on the market are written for -- how shall I say this? -- bookish people. This doesn't bother me very much, as I'm the kind of person who gets annoyed at books that don't have enough footnotes, but I have a couple of acquaintances/relations who are interested in Orthodoxy but -- while not being dumb -- have a hard time digesting concepts articulated at a level beyond what one would read at a college freshman level.

What literature would you recommend for someone who prefers something written for laymen without college degrees?

(And please no Gilquest or Gallatin. Seriously.)

This is problem that I recognized when my sister-in-law was converting. I have started writing a simple introduction to Christianity geared towards those who do not like to read (99% of the American population). The rate I have been going with it (a chapter every 3 days). It should be ready for editing this fall and, my hope is to have it on shelves sometime in 2012.

im not as much of a reader as i wish i was, but i just started reading "the mountain of silence" by kyriacos markides. its not a super quick read, but its pretty easy to understand so far. (im only 2.5 chapters in...)

it has a lot of information about the church in the context of a story which is actually pretty interesting. its not textbook style at all. check it out and read some reviews. it was recommended to me by a priest.

i listen to podcasts more often than i read though. i seem to digest the information better that way! i enjoy "the illumined heart" podcast, but there are many to choose from.

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Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God's mercy and His love for men. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved.

All books by Fredrica Mathews Greene, especially "Facing East", and Fr. Hopko's Rainbow series which is paint by the numbers but he never talks down to you. Excellent for a newbie.

Even if he ain't thrilled with it anymore, the one strength is that there ain't one point in there he doesn't back up with Scripture. He ties everything to Scripture. Could help those who want "Bible based teaching", which should be everyone.

« Last Edit: August 10, 2011, 04:31:51 AM by orthonorm »

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